Frightening.

Makes me aware of how ignorant I am about the history of China's conflicts with numerous countries and their attitude towards their "ancestral" territories.

Also, their pattern of first-strike warfare in which clearly they don't worry about losing a million soldiers here, a million there, in a war they figure is worth initiating in their interests.

(Not only over a specific conflict, but to rattle those sabres to remind the rest of the world of their ever-increasing power.)

Taiwan appears to be the big tinderbox, though the article speaks of the Philippines as a possible first strike point.

So sickening to think of so many armaments, financial outlay and people at risk of death on all sides just for national pride.

Of course, I guess the West's attitude has always been to beware of the slippery slopes in the Far East (and especially to beware of the Commies).

To the extent I thought about it, I'd been thinking complacently that the Sino-beneficial trade with the West would be enough to ward off any military action.

After all, what would they do without their market?